NOTTINGHAM Forest's hopes of signing Jamie Mackie have been given a boost, after he handed in a transfer request at Queens Park Rangers.
But the newly relegated London club may now pose serious opposition to the Reds' hopes of landing Charlie Austin.
Rangers last night rejected a bid for Mackie from Forest, who responded by handing in an official transfer request.
Harry Redknapp had hoped to add Gary Hooper to his Loftus Road squad, but this morning saw the Celtic striker edge closer to a move to Premier League Norwich.
And he has now switched his attentions to Burnley's 28-goal top scorer Charlie Austin, with Rangers understood to have registered an official bid for the player this morning.
Austin had been high on Forest's list of targets, with the Reds understood to have made contact with their Championship rivals over the possibility of signing the 24-year-old.
But, with Rangers having made a bid for the player, who saw a £4.5m move to Hull fall through when a medical exposed a potential issue with his knee, Forest will have to move swiftly if they hope to sign the former Swindon Town player.
Other transfer gossip:
Arsenal have told Roma to increase their bid for striker Gervinho to £8.6m. (Daily Mail)
Liverpool have hinted that they are ready to sell Luis Suarez, after the player told them he wants to talk to Arsenal.
But the Gunners must stump up £50m for the Uruguay striker. (Daily Mirror)
Spanish side Valencia want to Javier Hernandez, the Manchester United striker, on loan. (Daily Mail)
Tottenham fear Gareth Bale could crave a move to Real Madrid, following recent speculation that the Spanish giants are interested. That could prompt a bid from Manchester United who are also keen on the £85m-rated winger. (Daily Mirror)
Stoke hope to take QPR play-maker Adel Taarabt on loan. But the London club hope to sell the 24-year-old. (Daily Mail)
Fulham are working to secure the £8.6m capture of Roma striker Pablo Osvaldo. (Daily Star)
West Brom could end Scott Sinclair's Manchester City nightmare. The Baggies want the winger on a season-long loan.
(The Sun)
Forest's Championship rivals Middlesbrough are set to bring Ross Turnbull back to the Riverside Stadium. The 28-year-old has been released by Chelsea. (The Sun)
